What It Means
A parenting plan is the arrangement separated or divorced parents make, or a court sets, for raising their children in two homes. California Courts' self-help guide describes it as the orders on custody and visitation (also called parenting time): who makes major decisions about the children and when the children are with each parent. Once a judge signs it, the plan is a court order, and courts judge any plan by the child's best interests under their own state's law.
Try It: Turn a Two-Week Schedule Into Parenting Time Shares
Enter how many of 14 nights the children spend with Parent B in your two-week rotation. Arithmetic only, not legal advice.
The yearly figures repeat the two weeks all year, before holidays and school breaks change them.
How Parents Say It
- "It's in the parenting plan, he has them Thanksgiving this year."
- "We're redoing the parenting plan now that she's in school."
- "The plan says we both sign off on the school choice."
The Breakdown
What a parenting plan usually covers
| Part | What it settles |
|---|---|
| Legal custody | Who decides on health care, education and welfare, one parent or both |
| Physical custody | Where the children live most of the time |
| Regular schedule | Which days and nights the children spend in each home, and handover times |
| Holidays, special days and vacations | Birthdays, holidays, school breaks and summer, which the regular rotation doesn't cover |
Worked example. A plan gives Parent B 5 of every 14 nights: Friday, Saturday and Sunday on alternate weekends (3 nights), plus one midweek night each week (2 nights). Parent A has the other 9.
| Nights in 14 | Share | Over a year, before holidays | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent A | 9 | 64.3% | about 235 |
| Parent B | 5 | 35.7% | about 130 |
What the result means. The share measures time only. California's guide treats legal custody and physical custody separately, and each can be joint or sole, so decisions can be shared even when nights are uneven. The ABA notes that shared physical custody usually doesn't mean an exact half. An ABA Home Front page also describes a standard visitation scheduleCustody scheduleThe calendar in a parenting plan that says which days and nights a child spends with each parent, including handovers, holidays and school breaks. See more that adds alternating school breaks and holidays and several weeks in summer, which is why the yearly count shifts once those lines are written in.
Good to Know
Family law is state law. The ABA says nearly all courts apply the best interests of the child standard, but what courts weigh and which forms they use differ; California, for example, attaches its custody and visitation orders on Judicial Council form FL-341, and California's guide notes a policy of frequent, ongoing contact with both parents except in situations such as domestic violence. A plan can set a detailed schedule or leave "reasonable" time for parents to arrange between them, which California says works when parents communicate well. Read your own state court's self-help pages, and talk to a family law attorney before you sign or change a plan.
FAQ
What should be included in a parenting plan?
Legal custody (who makes major decisions), physical custody (where the children live), a regular schedule with handovers, and holidays, special days and vacations. Your state court's self-help pages often list what their forms ask for.
Does a parenting plan have to be approved by a court?
A plan becomes a court order when a judge signs it. Parents can agree on one and ask the court to approve it, or a judge sets one when they can't agree, based on the child's best interests.
What is a standard parenting time schedule?
The ABA describes one common pattern: every other weekend, one weeknight a week, alternating school breaks and major holidays, and several weeks in summer. Courts and states publish their own sample schedules.
Do It in Buhata
Calendar and Pickup and Drop-off
Enter the plan's rotation and holidays on the Calendar in a Household Space in Buhata, and log each handover in Pickup and Drop-off (Household X add-on).
Open BuhataRelated Terms and Categories
- Custody schedule
The calendar in a parenting plan that says which days and nights a child spends with each parent, including handovers, holidays and school breaks.
- Co-parenting
Two parents who live apart sharing the job of raising their child, working together on rules, schedules and decisions across both homes.
- Parallel parenting
A way for separated parents in high conflict to both stay involved while keeping direct contact to a minimum and running each home by its own rules.
- 2-2-3 custody schedule
An equal-time custody rotation in which a child spends 2 days with one parent, 2 with the other, then 3 with the first, flipping the next week.
- Week-on week-off schedule
An equal-time custody schedule in which a child lives with one parent for a full week, then the other, switching on the same day each week.
Sources
California Courts Self Help Guide, "Child custody and visitation (parenting time)"; California Courts Self Help Guide, "Prepare a custody and visitation (parenting time) agreement"; California Courts Self Help Guide, "Child Custody and Visitation (Parenting Time) Order Attachment" (FL-341); American Bar Association, "The Many Looks of Physical Custody: A Parenting Plan for Every Situation"; American Bar Association, Home Front, "Visitation"; Oregon Judicial Department, "Developing and Enforcing Your Parenting Plan"
- selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/child-custody
- selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/request-for-order/custody-visitation/prepare-agreement
- selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/jcc-form/FL-341
- www.americanbar.org/groups/family_law/resources/family-advocate/archive/many-looks-physical-custody-parenting-plan-every-situation
- www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_services/milvets/aba_home_front/information_center/family_law/children/visitation
- www.courts.oregon.gov/programs/family/children/Documents/DevelopingAndEnforcingYourParentingPlan.pdf
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